Ecovillages and Transition Towns—What Can We Learn from Them for a Regenerative Future?
摘要
The rapidly advancing climate change and its negative consequences require urgent action. Civil society initiatives (grassroots initiatives) are therefore demanding more radical and immediate changes. Following initial initiatives from the 1960s–1970s, which can be more categorized as “back to the country” movements, the idea of exemplifying ecological communal life forms is gaining new impetus due to the increasingly evident climate impacts over the past 10–15 years. Ecovillages operate as a way to empower people to find solutions to pressing environmental and societal problems within social communities and away from technology-centric positions. This chapter pursues the question: What does regenerative sustainability mean in the context of communities, districts, and municipalities? How is this lived and implemented in eco-communities? Ten case studies from the European and Mediterranean context (France, Greece, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey) are presented and positive as well as critical points are highlighted.